Auxiliary utility cabinet



Patented Sept. 28, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUXILIARY UTILITY CABINET Frank T. Hearst, Dallas, Tex. Application November 2, 1946, Serial No. 707,365

This invention relates to utility cabinets and more particularly to such cabinets adapted for installation in wall cabinets usuallyrecessed in the walls of bathrooms for storage of bath com modities, shaving equipment, medicines and the like.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary cabinet of such dimensions that it may, with convenience, be installed in a wall cabinet and is possessed of means by which it may be clamped in position on a shelf of the wall cabinet adjacent one end thereof without requiring alteration of any kind with respect to the wall cabinet and may, with equal facility, be removed from the latter.

Another object of the invention is to provide a utility cabinet for installation in a wall cabinet, in which is provided sliding drawers, equipped with means for supporting the same in inclined position when partially withdrawn from their respective receptacles in the cabinet in order that their contents will be more accessible. Moreover, these drawers are provided with rubber pulls serving as bumpers for the door of the major or wall cabinet in event of engagement of said door with the pulls which may consist of knobs or fin-' ger grips.

Still another object of the invention is to provide, in addition to the facilities afforded by the drawers, a rack forming a part of the utility cabinet for supporting tooth brushes of various sizes by virtue of serrated slots.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention has further reference to other features of accomplishment which will become apparent as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a side view of the invention in vertical section, showing the drawers extended in broken lines.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a conventional wall cabinet, showing the invention installed therein, and Y Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the invention per se on a slightly elongated scale.

Continuing with a more detailed description of the drawing, reference is primarily made to Figure 2 wherein numeral Ii] denotes a conventional wall cabinet'containing transverse shelves l I which are usually constructed of glass for sanitary purposes. Moreover, these shelves, while shown as being supported on permanent brackets 12, are usually adjustable vertically by virtue of vertically movable brackets of different types.

The invention consists of an auxiliary utility cabinet whose dimensions are such that it may be conveniently mounted in any one of several different designs of wall cabinet, to accommodate small articles such as razors, blades, dentrifices and. other toiletries and commodities so that they will not become scattered, misplaced or exposed to unsanitary conditions.

The utility cabinet consists of a plate 13, taking the form shown in vertical section in Figure 1, the same being shaped by dies in the case of metal or by a mold, if constructed of plastic material. The plate I3 is bent transversely at right angles intermediate its top and bottom to define a shallow space M, extending the length and breadth of the cabinet and which constitutes a receptacle for a selected one of the conventional shelves H- of glass or other material, installedin the wall cabinet shown in Figure. 2. The midsection 0f the plate [3, in being bent upon itself to define the space M, forms a bight portion [5 at the front of the utility cabinet, which embraces the edge of the glass shelf on which the cabinet is mounted. Also, the horizontally disposed midsection of the plate l3 defines, with parallel upper and lower plates l6 and I1 respectively, receptacles for upper and lower drawers l8 and 1-9, which may be the same or of difierent depths, as shown.

The lower extremity 20 of the plate I3 which extends below the lower plate I! is turned upwardly approximately 30 to provide a rack for tooth brushes 2| (Figure l), by virtue of the spaced, substantially V'-shaped recesses 22 along its upturned edge whose edges, in turn, are serrated at 23 to selectively receive brush handles of various sizes.

The utility cabinet is necessarily disposed in the wall cabinet at one side thereof, in view of the novel anchoring means therefor, which is shown in Figure 3. The anchoring means consists of a substantally U-shaped bend 24 which is formed in the end-wall 25 of the utility cabinet next adjacent the wall of the wall cabinet. The bend 24 is transverse to the vertical plane of the end wall 25 and embraces an end of the shelf [1, as exemplified in Figure 3, and rests upon the supporting bracket l2 which normally supported the end of shelf H.

To hold the cabinet against displacement, the U-shaped bend 24 is made to clamp the end of shelf H and to bring this about, the end wall 25 of the cabinet depends below the drawer assembly to form a flange 26. This flange is apertured and threaded to receive a bolt 21 having a knurled head 28. The end of the bolt is brought to bear against the wall of the wall cabinet when the head 28 is rotated. This has the tendency to urge the lower portion of the end plate 25 away from the wall of the larger cabinet and to exert an upward pressure on the lower section of the utility cabinet containing the drawer 19. Obviously then, the U-shaped bend 24 will be contracted on the glass shelf with a, clamping force and since the upper and lower sections of the cabinet are joined together only by the end wall 25 and along their facial portions by the bight I5, the degree of relative flexibility thus permitted will allow for a slight upward displacement of the lower section of the cabinet at its rear opposite said bight l5, to cause the same to bear against the undersurface of the supporting shelf II. The weight of the upper section of the cabinet will retain the same against the upper surface of the shelf.

Referring now'to the drawers l8 and I9; it will be observed that each has a deflected rear end at 29 which will permit the drawer to be tilted when withdrawn partially from its receptacle, as shown in Figure 1 in dotted lines. However, to prevent the drawer from sliding out of the receptacle when in tilted position, inclined cleats 30 are affixed to each side of the drawer adjacent its rear end and which assume a vertical position, in abutment with the inner faces of the drawer stops 3! when the drawer is in open and tilted position, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.

Each of the drawers i8 and i9 is provided with a knob 32 of rubber, serving the dual purpose of aifording a pull for the drawers and as a bumper for the door 33 of the wall cabinet should such be necessary or desired.

The upper plate 16 of the cabinet has its frontal edge 34 turned upwardly which prevents the falling off of articles placed on the plate It and superimposed on this plate is an auxiliary shelf 35, having an upturned lip 36 along its forward edge to hold articles thereon.

Manifestly, the construction as shown and described is capable of some modification and such modification as may be construed to fall within the scope and meaning of the appended claims is also considered to be within the spirit and intent of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A utility cabinet adapted for installation in a shelved wall cabinet including upper and lower drawer sections joined together only at one end and along their facial portions to define an intervening space adapted to receive a shelf of said wall cabinet adjacent one end thereof, a tiltable drawer slidably arranged in each of said drawer sections, a plate joining said sections together at one end, having a transverse U-shaped bend intermediate its ends and receiving an end of said shelf and means on the extended lower end of said plate for deflecting the same to impose on said U-shaped bend a contracting force eifective to clamp the same on the end of said shelf.

2. A utility cabinet adapted for installation in a wall cabinet having vertically spaced shelves therein, including upper and lower drawer sections, tiltable drawers slidably disposed in said sections, a plate join-ing said sections together at one end, means flexibly joining said sections together at their frontal portions and defining a space intermediate said sections to receive a shelf of said wall cabinet, said end plate having a transverse bend therein intermediate its ends defining a channel receiving the end of said shelf and means for imposing a transverse bend in said plate to contract the mouth of said channel on said shelf to secure said cabinet against displacement thereon.

3. A utility cabinet comprising, in combination with a shelved wall cabinet, upper and lower sections joined along their frontal portions in vertically spaced relationship to define a space for receiving a shelf of said wall cabinet, an end plate also joining said sections at their ends and having a U-shaped bend intermediate its ends defining a channel receiving an end of said shelf, and means for exerting a bending force transversely on said plate to contract said channel on said shelf to hold said utility cabinet against displacement thereon.

l. A utility cabinet comprising, in combination with a shelved wall cabinet, upper and lower sections joined along their frontal portions in vertically spaced relationship to define a space for receiving a shelf of said wall cabinet, an end plate also joining said sections at their ends and having a U-shaped bend intermediate its ends defining a channel receiving an end of said shelf for clamp-ing engagement therewith.

5. A utility cabinet comprising, in combination with a shelved wall cabinet, upper and lower sections joined along their frontal portions in vertically spaced relationship to define a space for receiving a shelf of said wall cabinet, an end plate also joining said sections at their ends and having a U-shaped bend intermediate its ends defining a channel receiving an end of said shelf for clamping engagement therewith, drawers slidably disposed in said upper and lower sections, each having deflected rear portions for tilting displacement with respect to its receptacle and means for holding said drawers in tilted position.

6. A utility cabinet as set forth in claim 5, further defined in that the lower section has a depending member provided with. an apertured lower extremity having a plurality of spaced, V-shaped recesses each of whose confronting edges are serrated to receive and retain articles of various widths.

7. A utility cabinet as described in claim 5, further defined in that the drawers are each equipped with pull knobs of rubber.

FRANK T. HEARST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,090,176 Besancon -Aug. 17, 1937 2,248,916 Opper July 8, 1941 2,314,118 Bisson Mar. 16, 1943 2,321,921 Lathrop June 15, 1943 

